1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for processing a work-piece in which material is removed from the work-piece, such as by grinding for example.
2. Description of Related Prior Art
A work-piece can be processed in various ways in order to remove material. Material can be removed from a work-piece to form apertures, slots, grooves, or other features. Material can also be removed from a work-piece to produce a desired surface finish on the work-piece.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a material removal process according to the prior art. FIG. 1 shows a grinding wheel 10 having a periphery 12 with a radius represented by arrow 14. The radius can change during completion of the material removal process. In the prior art process, the grinding wheel 10 is passed over a work-piece 16 a plurality of times to change a shape/appearance of the work-piece 16. A line 18 in FIG. 1 represents the path taken by the periphery 12 of the grinding wheel 10 during a first pass across the work-piece 16. The material above the line 18 is removed from the work-piece 16 in the first pass. The thickness of the material removed during the first pass is represented by the arrow 20. The first pass can be viewed as a “rough” pass. Lines 22, 24, and 26 also represent paths taken by the periphery 12 of the grinding wheel 10 during successive passes. Each of these second, third and fourth passes can be viewed as a “rough” passes. The thicknesses of material removed during the second, third and fourth passes are represented by arrows 28, 30 and 32, respectively. Line 34 represents the path taken by the periphery 12 of the grinding wheel 10 during a fifth pass. The fifth pass can be viewed as a “semi-finish” pass. The thickness of the material removed during the fifth pass is represented by the arrow 36. The thickness of material removed during a semi-finish pass is less than the thickness of material removed during a rough pass. Line 38 represents the path taken by the periphery 12 of the grinding wheel 10 during a sixth pass. The sixth pass can be viewed as a “finish” pass. The thickness of the material removed during the sixth pass is represented by the arrow 40.